Automated transaction machines are known in the prior art. For purposes of this disclosure an automated transaction machine shall include any device which is capable of carrying out transactions including transfers of value. A common type of automated transaction machine is an automated teller machine (ATM). ATMs are typically operative to perform banking transactions such as dispensing cash, transferring value between banking accounts, or accepting deposits. Many ATMs are located in retail or service facilities such as stores, gas stations, restaurants and bars. The owners of these facilities often generate income from the ATMs through service fees on transactions performed with the ATM. For example if a user withdraws an amount of cash from the ATM, the user may be charged a small transaction fee.
If the ATM has only marginal use, the income generated may not be sufficient to justify the expense of maintaining the ATM. For example maintenance and service costs may consume a large portion of the monthly income generated by an ATM which has low transaction volumes. Consequently to enable ATMs to generate additional income there exists a need for an ATM to perform additional income producing activities that do not significantly increase the expense of maintaining the ATM.
Methods for the digital recording of sound are also known in the prior art. Such digital recordings are typically distributed on compact disks (CD) for playback on a CD player. As sound systems have become a standard feature of any new personal computers, digital sound recordings are also being distributed as computer files. Common formats for sound computer files include WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) and MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3). To play such files, computer systems can employ a sound file player application such as the Windows Media Player. Sound file player applications read the digital sound files and output corresponding music through the sound card and speakers of the computer system.
Digital sound recordings may also be copied directly from an audio CD through a process called “ripping.” Essentially ripping refers to the reading of the digital information that represents audio on the CD and saving the information in a computer readable sound file. Different formats of sound files have different characteristics. For example WAV files are typically uncompressed digital versions of sampled sound. MP3 files are typically created by compressing a sound sequence into a very small file (about one-twelfth the size of a corresponding WAV file). However, MP3 files are “lossy” meaning that the compression algorithms remove digital information that most people cannot hear or cannot distinguish from other sounds. If a high sampling rate is used to generate the MP3 files, the sound quality is only slightly inferior to that of the original audio file. However, the advantage of the smaller size of the MP3 files is significant. These advantages include the ability to store more hours of sound recordings per amount of space in physical storage mediums such as, for example, hard disks, RAM, and flash memory cards. Also, the smaller size of MP3 files enables them to be downloaded much faster through a network such as the Internet.
Numerous web sites on the Internet offer digital sound files such as MP3 files for downloading to a personal computer. Also as a result of the popularity of digital sound files, portable computer systems have been developed such as the Diamond RIO which are specifically designed to load and play sound recording files.
Unfortunately, the technology associated with creating MP3 files from a CD and downloading MP3 files from web sites has resulted in a significant amount of music piracy and lost revenues for artists and music recording companies. Anyone with a home PC can generate an unlimited number of copies of digital sound files. By placing such pirated files on an Internet web site, unlimited distribution of pirated sound files is possible.
To deter copyright infringement and unrestricted piracy of digital sound recordings, the music industry is promoting an alternative file format for storing digital recordings called SDMI (Secure Digital Music Initiative). The SDMI specification for sound files offers similar compression characteristics as the MP3 file format; however, SDMI is designed to have built in copyright protection features which limit the playback and duplication of the files. In addition Microsoft has developed an alternative specification for compressing and copyright protecting sound files called Windows Media.
Because MP3 files are already wildly accepted as the de facto standard, it may be very difficult for new file formats to replace MP3. The popularity of MP3 files coupled with unlimited sound file piracy may significantly decrease the revenue that recording labels and artists generate from the sale of music and other forms of audio. Consequently, there exists a need for a system of distributing MP3 files that enables the copyright holder to receive licensing fees for each distribution of an MP3 file.
Distribution of sound recordings from the Internet makes it much easier for an individual artist to reach a mass audience for their work without a recording label. As a result the variety of music that is available over the Internet is exploding. Many of the titles can be downloaded without a fee. Unfortunately much of the music that has no fee is low quality, amateurish, and not very desirable. If the artist is relatively unknown, it is very difficult to get users to download music for a fee. This is because most individuals are hesitant to pay for downloaded MP3 files before being familiar with the artist.
If the music is given away on a no-fee basis or even a low-fee preview basis, it may be difficult to generate any income from the music. Once the MP3 version of the music is downloaded, the MP3 file can be played, copied, and distributed an unlimited number of times without generating income for the artist. Consequently there exists a need for a system that enables individuals to test out songs for a small fee, but does not enable the users to copy or distribute the sound files.
To take advantage of the benefits of playing sound recording files rather than CDs or cassettes, a user must have a PC. Although the cost of a personal computer has dramatically decreased over the last two decades, computers are still significantly more expensive than a CD player. Portable sound file players such as the Diamond RIO are operative to play music independently from a PC; however they still must be connected to a PC at some point to upload a new set of MP3 files. Consequently there exists a need for a new system of distributing sound files that does not require the user to have a computer.
The current methods for delivery of forms of audio, visual, paint and other media may also have drawbacks. Consequently there exists a need for a better way of delivering the content of such media.